The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF)

TOGAF is an architecture framework - The Open Group Architecture Framework. It enables you to design, evaluate, and build the right architecture for your organization.

TOGAF supports four architecture domains:

• Business (or business process) architecture which defines the business strategy, governance, organization, and key business processes of the organization
• Applications architecture which provides a blueprint for the individual application systems to be deployed, the interactions between the application systems, and their relationships to the core business processes of the organization
• Data architecture which describes the structure of an organization's logical and physical data assets and the associated data management resources
• Technology architecture which describes the software infrastructure intended to support the deployment of core, mission-critical applications

TOGAF's characteristics

• Comprehensive phased approach
• Complete lifecycle management
• Best practice tool support
• Simplicity and depth

Main components of TOGAF
There are three main parts which define TOGAF. These are:

• The Architecture Development Method (ADM) - the centerpiece and core of TOGAF providing the process and method to create the component architectures.

• The Enterprise Continuum - the set of architectures, building blocks and products which are used to create the organization-specific enterprise architectures.

• The Resource Base - basic best practice tools and techniques which are used to guide and create the architectures in the Enterprise Continuum.